Menu الصفحة الرئيسية كتاب (الوالي إسماعيل) كتب سابقة مدونات مقالات وثائق صور مواد مرئية للتواصل The Road To Muscat October 1, 1948 – October 25, 1949 هيفاء عبدالقادر الرصاصي Muscat is the capital city of the sultanate of Oman. The city lies on the Arabian Sea along the Gulf of Oman. Oman is also in the proximity of the strategic Straits of Hormuz, a very important trade waterway since ancient times. The city of Muscat is flanked by high arid mountains on both eastern & western sides. South of Muscat is Jebel Akhdar ( Green Mountain) , it is lush and fertile .Oman is located between Yemen to the south, Saudi Arabia to the west , United Arab Emirate to the north & the Arabian Sea to the east. On February 16, 1948 , my mother , my sister Hala and I left Jerusalem, leaving my father & grandfather behind. My oldest sister Hitaf who was staying with my grandparents , left Haifa, Palestine with them heading to Lebanon. My father remained in Jerusalem in order for him to qualify for the promised British pension, he left on May 14, 1948 just hours before they closed the borders and the state of Palestine was occupied to allow room for the Jews of the world to settle & rule by force. My paternal grandfather grandpa Khalil Rasasi refused to evacuate his home. We joined my maternal grandparents, aunts & uncles in Hammana, Lebanon. On September 17, 1948, we left Lebanon via Syria heading to Muscat, Oman. Uncle Ismael; who lived in Muscat, sent a letter to my father offering him a job as a translator. Uncle Ismael who is seven years older than my father, had graduated in 1921 with a degree in eduation, he was sent to Oman to direct the education ministry in Musact, then he became Secretary of the Inerior & moved on to become Prime Minister ( head of Wilayat ) during the rule of Sultan Said Bin Taymoor. Uncle Khalil Khatib ( aunt Munira’s husband ) drove us from Beirut to Abu Shamat, Syria in his cool green Citreon sun-roofed car. We bed farewell to my grandmother, aunt, uncle & my cousins. My parents, two sisters and I, took the air-conditioned Nairn coach line from Damascus, Syria to Baghdad, Iraq. The trip took approximately 14-17 hours. I enjoyed the ride, we were provided with a lunch box full of goodies, a pillow & a blanket. My sister Hala was miserable , she suffered from motion sickness, she wept all night long. I ate my sandwich & cookie, looked out of the window in the desert moonlit night & plunged into my sweet dreams. In Baghdad, we stayed at the nice Hotel Zia on the Tigris River. From Baghdad we took the train to Basra, in the southern tip of Iraq located on the mighty Shatt al Arab River, Shatt Al Arab is formed by the confluence of the Tigris & Euphrates rivers crossing Iraq from the north to the south. Basra, is the second largest city in Iraq, it is the center of oil fields, refineries & it is a major export city through the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world. The water of Shatt Al Arab is murky due to the flow of silt from the Karun River in Iran. Shatt Al Arab flows between Iraq & Iran and its boundaries have been a point of bitter dispute between the two countries . In fact, it was one of the main causes of the eight-year war ( 1980-1988 ) between Iraq and Iran. The USA, UK, S. Arabia and Israel played a dirty role in fanning the flames and at one point they were funding and supporting both sides at the same time, providing false intelligence to both sides. These players’ intention was to weaken both sides and diminish their influence. As they claimed, if we keep them fighting each other they won’t create a threat to our interests. From Basra, we sailed south down the Persian Gulf, passing Kuwait, Bahrain, S. Arabia , Qatar & United Arab Emirate. The Persian Gulf is a locked area of the Arabian Sea waterway where it narrows at the Strait of Hormuz; the narrowest distance between Iran & the Arabian Penninsula. The Sultanate of Oman is located to the west of the Gulf of Oman and Muscat is its capital and main port, for centuries it has been a vital and prosperous trading center connecting South East Asia to the Arab World. Oman occupies a strategic position at the entrance to the Persian Gulf, one did not go unnoticed by western powers . We arrived Muscat on October 1, 1948. Uncle Ismael & his wife aunt Adla Dajani welcomed us to their residence. They had a one-year old baby girl, her name is Inas. The residence sits on top of the court house or what is called the “saraya”. I remember we occupied a suite in the back of the residence. Muscat at that time was still far from development. They did not have modern toilets, it consisted of a pit & two porcilen steps on the sides and a chain-flush, you had to squat to go., a far cry from modern Muscat today. The climate in Oman is very hot in the summer, temperatures can go up to 104 F and the winter is warm. We certainly enjoyed eating a lot of amazing fresh fish “catch of the day” very frequently. Although my uncle’s residence is not directly on the water edge, it overlooks a fantastic view of the sea. The house has large windows , I remember the window sill is wide enough to sit up there and watch passenger/ freight ships and the traditional dhows passing by, enjoying the saltry smell & the sea breeze. The Dhow is a single -mast sailing ship made without nails, it has been a cargo vessel for centuries carrying rice , spices and goods from China
